Watching the circus that was President Obama's health care "summit" on Thursday highlighted many things for me, but one in particular:Republicans are VERY different from Democrats.

I've spent months listening to people like Glenn Beck say there's no difference between Republicans and Democrats. For awhile, I bought it and came to the point of wanting to change parties. I heard rumors that Libertarians had taken over the Tea Party movement, I heard Republican friends I've known for years talk about joining the Independent Party. (Yeah--that's the answer. Join the ranks of those who can't pick a side.) I wasn't quite sure what to do, because no other party quite matched up to what I believe in. Simply put, I believe in the Constitution.I've been to the Tea Parties. The ones I attended were full of people from all political persuasions. They were racially diverse, peaceful and respectful--all contrary to what the mainstream media would have you believe. If my research is correct, third parties don't win elections. If Libertarians took over anything this year, it could be argued it was CPAC, not the Tea Parties.

Don't get me wrong, there are those in the Republican party, such as former Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter (who became a Democrat last April--big shocker there), that deserve the tongue lashing they receive from Republicans for going against the very principles on which our party stands, or at least used to stand. There are certainly Republicans, like Senator John McCain and Lindsay Graham, who anger many of us in the conservative wing of our party when they vote as moderates the vast majority of the time. But to assert that there's absolutely no difference between the two parties is simply irresponsible, at the very least. Bill Bennett said it best, when he wrote his review on Beck's CPAC 2010 speech.

Bennett goes on to highlight some of the "best and brightest" in the Republican party who have, indeed, been working night and day to correct the mistakes the party has made. They've been offering the solutions America needs, if anyone would care to listen...President Obama proved yesterday that he certainly doesn't.

For all the great things Bennett said in his article, I would disagree with his assertion that Senator McCain has seen the light and recognizes that "our party has lost it's way". He may have made the statement multiple times, but he's done virtually nothing to prove he means it. If he had gone after President Obama with the tactics he's using on his opponent in AZ, J.D. Hayworth, we'd likely have a much different political climate today.

Rush Limbaugh highlighted the National Journal Magazine yesterday on his radio show. They did their annual study on who were the most liberal, conservative and moderate leaders in the House and Senate in 2009. Their findings were incredibly fascinating, based purely on votes, not opinions.

The 10 most liberal Senators were found to be Democrats.Shocking, I know.

The 10 most centrist were found to be Democrats as well, and the 10 most conservative were...get ready for this...Republican. Who knew? Only Republicans were found to be conservative, yet all liberals were found to be only Democrats.

To most of us who are actively involved in politics in one form or another, this data comes as no surprise. The question many on the right have been asking--what are we going to do about our party?--is easily answered.Take it back. How? By first recognizing those who do take a stand for what's right, and making sure that we help others join their ranks in the November elections. The Democrats in our party posing as Republicans? Expose them and get rid of them when their number is up for re-election, but don't punish those who are doing the right thing. Leaders like Congressman John Boehner (R-OH), Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MINN), Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA), Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and others have proven they do have the backbone to do what is right, and are speaking on our behalf. Until mid January, Republicans were impotent. Limbaugh pointed out Monday that it is theAmerican peoplewho have stopped cap and trade. It was you, and me, and others like us who have, until now, stopped Obama's health care bill from passing. It's because we are determined to take back our country that these efforts by the left have been unsuccessful. We can succeed...each of us doing our part. Thomas Sowell once said "the right person in the right place at the right time can change everything" in an article he wrote on the late William F. Buckley and the Conservative movement. Boy was he ever right.

Does our party have some bad eggs? You bet we do...but it certainly does not warrant the blanket statements being made by Glenn Beck and others that there's no difference at all between the parties.

There is a night and day difference between Republicans like the "best and brightest" I have highlighted above, and the Democrat party. To continue to denigrate those in Washington who aren't like the rest, who do have a shred of character, is to dishearten them. They've been fighting an uphill battle, and taking all things into consideration, I'd say they've been hugely successful in, at the very least, putting up roadblocks at every turn to try and stop this takeover. They have, along with their constituents, refused to play into the "bi-partisan" game, and they should be praised for it.

On the contrary, those who are actively participating in the undermining of our freedoms and the destruction of this country need to be held accountable. The "silent form of socialism" President Ronald Reagan once spoke of is silent no more...and we'd better wake up and stop it before it's too late.**This post can also be viewed at Smart Girl Nation online magazine for Smart Girl Politics.

I really have paid little attention to the hype leading up to the President's health care "summit" today. We've all come to expect that anything the left offers as a "bi-partisan" effort is nothing more than an opportunity to get face time in front of the camera.

Listening to the President give his opening remarks sounded like just another campaign speech, only there were many ummm's and uhhh's, giving the impression that he'd left his teleprompter behind this time.The Washington Post reported this morning that Democrats expect "Thursday's session will amount to little more than political theater" and that plans have already been made to focus instead on "intra-party negotiations" to advance the President's agenda.

Of course they have.

The president has touted this circus as an opportunity for Republicans to be heard, but make no mistake about it, they don't intend to listen. Rude whispering and gestures are happening each time a Republican speaks, less time is being given to those on the right "because I thought since I'm the President I wouldn't count my time". Only, he's taken up a huge amount of time listening to himself talk...while we all wait for some actual ideas to emerge from the mouths of the Democrats. For all the accusations the left has made that Republicans have brought nothing to the table, the ideas I've heard this morning that made any sense have come primarily from the right side of the aisle. From the left, it's more of the same, with members like Senator Reid spouting facts that he's apparently pulled out of thin air, while accusing Senator Alexander of "making up facts". When Sen. McCain suggested that the back room deals need to stop, the President interrupted him, clearly angered by the comment.

The President likes to say that perhaps he hasn't given enough speeches to adequately explain the health care legislation to the American people. He needs to 'dumb it down' for us.

I submit that perhaps the American people need to 'dumb it down' for the President and those on the left who have chosen to act like they haven't heard the millions of us who have spoken. The elections in VA, NJ, and MASS apparently aren't enough to convince them that we're serious. Perhaps construction paper and crayons should be used in our letters to our elected officials...wide ruled paper like we used in kindergarten might be useful. Write big and draw pictures.

All joking aside, what is it going to take?

More of the same.

The tea parties last summer were quite effective. Town hall meetings, which many members of Congress and the Senate now seem scared of holding, were incredibly useful in letting our representatives know how we felt. Make your voice heard, through calls and letters to your representatives. Show up at Tea Parties in your area, educate yourself on accurate facts and then respectfully educate others. Most importantly, VOTE. If you already do, focus on helping with voter registration in your area. That seems to be a language they eventually understand, because they have to.

Harry Reid's wife would do well to begin preparing herself. After all, her husband will soon join the ranks of unemployed abusive husbands. God help her.

Meanwhile, you can catch the second half of riveting dialogue about the health care legislation on the GOP website, or tune in to cable news outlets when it resumes around 2:00 pm EST.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

This Smart Girl mom is truly a rookie when it comes to political conventions. I can count on one hand the number of times I've engaged in political activism, and most of those occurred in 2008/2009. Thank you, President Obama. When I decided to take the leap and attend this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, it was a huge step outside my comfort zone. What in the world could I expect? Would I really get in to hear the speakers in person? Could I really get tickets? Would it be affordable? Most of all, would it be interesting and worth my time?

The answer was a resounding yes.

One of the things I've been shocked to find out this past year as a blogger, and as a political activist, is how accessible our public officials are to those who are patient, persistent, respectful, and willing to do their homework. Because I couldn't find a babysitter to keep my children during the Thursday and Friday sessions, I chose to go to the Saturday session, making it far more affordable. Contrary to those on the left who think we're all rolling in the big bucks, there are many of us on the right who actually aren't millionaires. Because you cannot purchase 'Saturday only' tickets in advance, my friend and I arrived early to get in line. We quickly found parking and raced to the elevator to beat the crowd, only to get upstairs and find that there was virtually no line at all. We paid, obtained our badges, and hurried to the main ballroom expecting to find standing room only. Wrong again. There were many seats yet to be filled. We arrived just in time to hear the former Senator, Hon. Rick Santorum, give a short speech and then open the floor for questions. This routine went on throughout the day, and if I had wanted to ask a question, the microphone beside where I was sitting had virtually no line when the time came to ask questions. We heard speakers such as Andrew Breitbart, Hon. Bill Bennett, Hon. John Bolton, Hon. Newt Gingrich, Col. Allen West, Glenn Beck, and others. My favorite speaker of the day? You guessed it--Ann Coulter. Controversial as usual, Coulter did not disappoint. Additionally, there were various panels throughout the day discussing such hot button issues as global warming and conservative foreign policies. Below the ballroom were what seemed like hundreds of various organizations and vendors set up with plenty of information and products readily available for anyone interested. My favorite? Why, SGP, of course. It was a pleasure to finally meet some of those smart girls I'm always networking with online.

Was it worth my time? You betcha! What was probably most interesting to me about the conference as a whole, other than the wealth of information I gained from the speakers, was how young the crowd was. Earlier today on Townhall, I read in the comment section of one of the articles that "only fat old white men" attended CPAC. I can tell you from my own observation that that assertion is absolutely untrue. According to CPAC's own statistics, nearly 50% of the attendees were under the age of 25. I was encouraged to see this, although as a mom, I would suggest that if a student is going to spend his hard earned money to attend CPAC, perhaps he would be better served by listening to the speakers. I often wondered throughout the day if many of the young people sitting behind me were there just to party, to intentionally disrupt, or actually gain something from the conference.

So, for those who are in what I like to call the 'silent majority'--conservative women--it was well worth my time and the extra cash to attend CPAC this year. I plan to go back next year, and the only thing I'll do differently is go all three days and wear more comfortable shoes. We are living in perhaps one of the most important times in the history of our nation. It's important that we, the women who make up the conservative portion of this nation, educate ourselves so that we are able to do what is necessary to be effective in this battle for our freedom. CPAC became a tool to do just that for me this year.

My only disappointment?

Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh were missing.

(To view the CPAC 2010 speakers and panel discussions, see this link)**This post can also be viewed here. The wonderful ladies over at Smart Girl Politicsand Smart Girl Nation have so graciously invited me to contribute to their online magazine. Please visit both sites as often as you can--we love not only your visits, but your feedback as well. See ya at both locations as often as possible!

Monday, February 01, 2010

Sarah posted these comments this evening on her official Facebook Page:

The newly-released mind-boggling, record-smashing $3,400,000,000,000 federal budget invites plenty of opportunity to debate the merits of incurring more and more debt that will drown the next generation of Americans. Never has it been possible to spend your way out of debt. So... let the debate begin.

Included in the debate process will be opportunities for our president to deliberate internally the wisdom of this debt explosion, along with other economic, military and social issues facing our country. Our president will discuss these important issues with Democrat leaders and those within his inner circle. I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm’s continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts. Yes, Rahm is known for his caustic, crude references about those with whom he disagrees, but his recent tirade against participants in a strategy session was such a strong slap in many American faces that our president is doing himself a disservice by seeming to condone Rahm’s recent sick and offensive tactic.

The Obama Administration’s Chief of Staff scolded participants, calling them, “F---ing retarded,” according to several participants, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the “N-word” or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.

A patriot in North Andover, Massachusetts, notified me of Rahm’s “retarded” slam. I join this gentleman, who is the father of a beautiful child born with Down Syndrome, in asking why the Special Olympics, National Down Syndrome Society and other groups condemning Rahm’s degrading scolding have been completely ignored by the White House. No comment from his boss, the president?

As my friend in North Andover says, “This isn’t about politics; it’s about decency. I am not speaking as a political figure but as a parent and as an everyday American wanting my child to grow up in a country free from mindless prejudice and discrimination, free from gratuitous insults of people who are ostensibly smart enough to know better... Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

Mr. President, you can do better, and our country deserves better.

- Sarah Palin

It's hard to believe that even the likes of Rahm Emmanuel would be so bold as to make a statement such as this in today's political climate. However, this administration gives us yet another shining example of the hypocrisy with which it operates, as they remain tight lipped about this latest incident. Thankfully, many Americans have woken to that which is obvious, and have begun to express their opinion where it counts--at the ballot box.

Meanwhile, perhaps Mr. Obama would do well to listen to Sarah's advice and do some house cleaning of his own before lecturing us as he did last Tuesday.

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This policy is valid from 01 September 08.This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me, Tami Nantz, and occasionally a guest blogger. In absolutely NO way do we represent Governor Sarah Palin, Sarah PAC, or any other official Sarah Palin political entity. This blog will gladly accept forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation if those offered are not in contrast with the ideas presented here. You may contact Tami Nantz via this blog for further information. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts on this blog. All current advertising is in the form of advertisements that are generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements are identified as paid advertisements, and unfortunately often do NOT reflect the positions presented on this blog. The owner(s) of this blog are not compensated to provide commentary. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. We will always identify quotes, sources and links, and encourage you to follow those to discover the sources for yourself.